Car-door retainer.



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PATBNTED' 001?. 18, 1904.

J. F. LANE.

CAR DOOR RETAINER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1903- No. 772,464. Patented October 18, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J HN F. LANE, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR or TWO-THIRDsTo WILLIAM M. MARsHALL, OF ANGOLA, NEW YORK, AND RICHARD E. oAvIN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

OAR-DOOR RETAIN-ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,464, dated October 18, 1904.

Application filed June 22, 1903. Serial No. 162,509- (No model.)

TO whom it y Concern: through the car-door and adapted to enter an Be it known that 1, JOHNF. LANE, a citizen opening or socket e, seated'in the side of the of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the car, as shown in Fig. 3. In the preferred 5 county of Erie and State-of New York, haveinconstruction shown in the drawings this bolt vented new and useful Improvements in Oaris guided in a cylindrical casing F, arranged Door Retainers, of which the .following is a in an opening of the car-door and provided specification. at its inner end witha countersunk flange f,

This invention relates more particularly to through which the fastening-screws f pass. 55 a locking or retaining device for the'sliding g is'the spring of the bolt, which bears at I0 doors of freight-cars. .its inner end against a collar g of the bolt The principal object of my invention is to and at its opposite end against the closed outer so construct and arrange the retaining device end of the casing F. The bolt projects through as to render it practically impossible for a the front end of the casing, so as to be accessi- 6O car-burglar to reach the device for releasing ble from the outer side of the door, and the and opening the door without danger of desame is smooth and taperedtoward its Outer tection. end, as shown, in order to render it diflicult The invention has the further object to proto grasp and withdraw the bolt except by vide a simple door-retainer which takes the standing before it and to preclude blocking 5 place of the usual cleat or batten nailed to the or wedging it in its retracted position. side of the car at the rear edge of the door. The side of the car is preferably provided In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is in line with the retaining-bolt E with a lona side elevation of a freight-car embodying gitudinal rail H, upon which the rounded my invention. Fig. Qisafragmentary transinner end of the bolt runs in opening and 7 verse vertical section in line 2 2, Fig. l, on closing the car-door. Freight-cars usually 5 an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is afragmentary have such a railarranged midway ofQth'e top horizontal section in line 8 3, Fig. 1, on an and bottom of the door, and this same rail enlarged scale, showing the door held in its may be utilized as the guide-rail of the reclosed position. Fig. 4. is a section similar taming-bolt by elevating the rail to the level 7 5 to Fig. 3, showing the retaining-bolt withthereof. This retaining-bolt is' arranged in 3 drawn for releasing the door. or near the upper rear corner of the door, or, Similar letters of reference indicate correin other words, remote from the front edge sponding parts throughout the several views. of the door, where its handle I is usually 10- A indicates the sliding car-door, which may cated, and at such a height that a'person standbe supported and guided by any suitable or ing on-the ground cannot reach the bolt. At well-knownmeans. In the construction shown the same time the bolt is located so far below in the drawings the door is provided at its the car-roofthat a person lying upon the latupper edge with the customary door-hangers ter cannot reach and manipulate the bolt. B, and is held against the side of the car at its For this purpose the bolt is placed nearthe 5 lower edge by the usual guides C. rear edge of the car-door and about two feet 4 d is the door-hasp, which passes through and a half below its top. By this arrangethe staple d on the door-post, and d the mentof the bolt even if acar-burglar or other usual pin of the hasp to which the customary unauthorized person should use a ladder for seal is attached after loading the car and closreaching the sameit is impossible for him to 9 ing the door. hold the spring-bol tin its withdrawn position E indicates the retainer for'keeping the oarand at the same time reach the handle of the door closed. This retainer preferably condoor, because the distance between the bolt sists of a spring-bolt passing transversely and the handle is greater than the stretch of the arms. This is especially the case if a person should attempt to release and open the door from the roof of the car. To open the door, it is necessary for one person to withdraw and hold out the bolt and another to seize the handle and shift the door. Two unauthorized persons would naturally be deterred from attempting to enter a car in this manner, because of the great risk of detection.

When a car equipped with such a door-retainer is brought opposite the platform of a freight-house, the bolt can be easily reached for releasing the door, and the height of the bolt is also such that it can be reached without diificulty from the platform of a wagon or other vehicle standing beside the car.

The spring-bolt constituting the door-retainer interlocks automatically with the socket e of the car-body when the door is fully closed, and it is therefore impossible to close and seal the door without at the same time securing it in that position. This is an important feature of the device, inasmuch as the duty of closing and securing the doors after loading cars usually falls to a cheap and more or less careless class of labor. The device also dispenses with the battens or cleats which are usually nailed to the side of the car for securing the door, thus preventing the damage to cars resulting from the use of such cleats.

I claim as my invention The combination with a railway-car having a sliding door and provided in its outer side in rear of the door with a socket, of a sliding bolt passing through the door and adapted to enter said socket, said bolt being located near the rear edge of the door and between its top and its central portion, so as to be inaccessible except by one on an elevation, such as a station-platform, and to substantially preclude the use thereof as a handle to slide the door, the handle of the bolt being smooth and tapered to preclude grasping or engaging the same to withdraw the bolt other than by a direct grasp and pull in line therewith, and so fitted as to prevent blocking or wedging it in its retracted position, and a spring applied to said bolt and tending to move the same into said socket, substantially as set forth.

itness my hand this 19th day of June, 1903.

JOHN F. LANE.

\Vitnesses: V

RICHARD E. (irAVIN, Tuno. L. Porr. 

